THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BUYS WORLDWIDE TELEVISION NEWS AND INTRODUCES NEW LEADING VIDEO NEWS AGENCY NEW YORK, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- The Associated Press announced today it has completed the acquisition of Worldwide Television News (WTN) from ABC News and will combine it and the existing APTV service into a new global news agency, Associated Press Television News (APTN). APTN will provide fast and reliable coverage of the day's top stories to nearly 350 television news customers around the globe, making it the world's leading video news agency. APTN will have dedicated newsgathering resources in 83 news bureaus operating in 67 countries, which will be supplemented and supported by newsgathering in 154 other AP bureaus and news supply agreements with more than 350 television news organizations. The newly named service combines and integrates APTV, AP's 4-year-old global video news service, with WTN, a leading supplier of international video news since 1963. The acquisition was announced in June. APTN will also provide a rich selection of specialized television news services, including feature and archive services, daily entertainment news, customized coverage from the Middle East and an extensive video archive of more than 100 years of news footage, representing nearly every major historical event of the 20th century. In addition, APTN will have the largest broadcast special services operation in the world, providing camera crews, editing and satellite delivery to customers in the field. APTN is also a major supplier of sports news through its partnership with SNTV, Sports News Television. "APTN will offer up-to-the minute video news from around the world and will support it with the kind of responsive customer service the AP is known for," said Louis D. Boccardi, AP's president and chief executive officer. "This is a giant step forward for the AP, its member owners and its clients. In addition to reinforcing our place in video, it assures a timely and reliable supply of video for all our member Internet services." The Associated Press, a news cooperative celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, is the world's oldest and largest newsgathering organization, serving more than 15,000 news organizations worldwide. "Broadcasters around the world will benefit from the most comprehensive range of news services available anywhere. We will have bureaus wherever the news happens. Customers will be able to get all they need from a single supplier," said Derek Taylor, managing director of APTN. "Three qualities will mark us out: We are focused on the needs of our customers, our sole business is news, and APTN is the one agency customers can rely on -- to cover the news with integrity and to deal fairly with our clients." Taylor, a veteran broadcast news correspondent, bureau chief and marketing director, joined the AP in June. No purchase price was announced. SOURCE: The Associated Press CONTACT: Janis Magin, 212-621-1720, or Elizabeth Christy, 44-171-427-4028, both of the Associated Press